a meltdown,” I said, the lie burning my chest. “I’m giving you a taste of your own medicine, and I’m setting these poor girls free.”
Vinn huffed. “I never heard any complaints.”
“Yeah, well. You might after I block them.”
“What are you doing?” He thumped and banged, rattling the doorknob. “Liana, do not fuck with my phone.”
“You should lock your cell.”
“Liana, open this door.”
“I’ll let you in soon. I’m sending them all a little message. I’ll read it out loud.”
Vinn: I apologize for being an asshole. You deserve better.
Vinn: P.S. I’m engaged. Don’t contact me again.
I hit Send.
Then I blocked them, one by one.
Vinn’s laughter boomed from outside, curdling my stomach. “They’ll never believe that’s from me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I don’t owe them an explanation. They’re not girlfriends. They’re women I use to get off. When I cut ties, I stop responding.”
“That’s cold.”
And yet, it made me smile.
“They’re using me, too. I don’t see the big deal.” His body slid along the wall, vibrating with another laugh. “You’re just fucking jealous.”
I kicked the door. “I’m not.”
“Keep repeating it, sweetheart.”
“I’m angry at how callous you’ve gotten. You don’t care about anybody’s feelings.” I stared at the door, boiling. “As long as they're not threatening your ego or your bottom line, they can go to hell.”
“What about everything I’ve done for you?”
“Forcing me to be yours is not doing me a favor.” Pain swelled in my throat. “You don’t understand how much it hurts to be around you. I trusted you! I would’ve shifted the moon for you, and you stabbed me in the back.”
“What did I do?”
Pure frustration leaked from his tone, and that sent me in a frenzy. “How can you not know?”
“Jesus Christ, Liana. Just tell me.”
He jammed something into the doorknob, and the lock popped. The door swung. He staggered inside and ran his fingers through his ebony locks. He was beautiful, but it echoed in me hollowly. It was like looking at a stranger. I no longer recognized him.
I hated him for that, too.
He’d ruined what helped me see past the darkness.
“You killed Daniel.”
Vinn’s gaze scanned me, taking in my state like a soldier assessing the situation. “Ignacio did it, not me, but yes. I signed off on his murder.”
Tears blinded me, his presence tormenting me. He seized his phone and pocketed it. Then he grabbed a tissue box, held it to his waist, and released.
It thudded near my feet.
“I couldn’t have stopped him from dying any more than you could’ve prevented gravity from making that fall.”
“Is that a joke?”
“Daniel was a rat. We kill rats.” Vinn backed against the counter, crossing his arms. “And I loathed him. I have no problem admitting I never liked him and wished him dead, many times.”
I balled my fists, reliving the pain of Daniel in the hospital, shutting off life support, and his coffin sinking into the ground.
“What did he ever do to you?”
“Nothing,” he admitted, softening. “It was what he did to you and Michael.”
“Like what?” I could barely hold back the venom. “Keep us safe? Feed us?”
“You have a very selective memory.”
His glare pierced my chest. As I approached him, his olive-black eyes dimmed to a soft smolder.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Liana. The man was sick.”
My cheeks blistered. “What are you talking about?”
“He hit you both, especially Michael. You were so young. You used to cry when he walked into the room.” Vinn’s burning gaze stripped me bare. “You don’t remember?”
My head throbbed with a dull ache as echoes from the past resurfaced—my skull bashing into a wall, my body thrown into rooms, stewing in my bedroom with a raw cheek.
“I-I remember some things.”
“He was fucked up. He stabbed Michael once.”
“That’s a lie!”
“Ask him if you don't believe me. I was eight. I saw the whole thing.” The gravel in his voice disappeared into a hush I’d never heard before. “Michael bled all over the kitchen tiles. He almost died.”
I turned away from Vinn, shaking.
No. It must’ve been an accident. Daniel wasn’t a maniac. Sure, he’d been rough. At times, too harsh. Most men in the life had issues.
Right?
“I didn’t know you were that upset.” Vinn’s hand rolled over my shoulder, its weight reassuring. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
Are you kidding me?
I gaped at him, wondering if this was a bad joke. “That’s the problem. You have so little self-awareness. You hurt people all the time, and you don’t even realize it.”
“As long as you’re safe, hate me all you want.”
The same words he’d given me about Michael.
My mind